corporation

American  

[kawr-puh-rey-shuhn] / ˌkɔr pəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• corporations
  plural

1. an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members.

2. Corporation, the group of principal officials of a borough or other municipal division in England.

3. any group of persons united or regarded as united in one body.

4. Informal. a paunch; potbelly.

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corporation British  

/ ˌkɔːpəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. a group of people authorized by law to act as a legal personality and having its own powers, duties, and liabilities

2. Also called: municipal corporation.  the municipal authorities of a city or town

3. a group of people acting as one body

4. See public corporation

5. informal a large paunch or belly

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corporation Cultural  

1. A business organization owned by a group of stockholders, each of whom enjoys limited liability (that is, each can be held responsible for losses only up to the limit of his or her investment). A corporation has the ability to raise capital by selling stock to the public.

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Grammar

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• multicorporation
  noun
• noncorporation
  noun
• subcorporation
  noun
• supercorporation
  noun
• corporational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• corporations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of corporation

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Late Latin corporātiōn- (stem of corporātiō ) “guild,” Latin: “physical makeup, build”; see corporate, -ion

Explanation

Most of us think of corporations as companies — Amazon is one, Kellogg another, Disney a third. In reality, a corporation has a very particular legal meaning: it's a company that registers with a state government such that it has the same rights and responsibilities as a person. Know the word corpse? It means a dead body, and comes from the Latin corpus, "body." One way to remember corporation is that it turns a company into a body — a body that is considered a person in many respects in the eyes of the law. Corporations must pay taxes and follow laws. Because it is a separate entity, when a corporation fails, its employees and managers are not responsible for its debts.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

corporation corporations

The corporation said at the time that it was "exceptionally proud" of the shows but they had to make "difficult choices in light of our funding challenges".

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest non-profit health group, has veered from its charitable mission and is now scarcely distinguishable from a corporation keenly focused on its bottom line, according to critics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

Nvidia is the key corporation behind the generative AI frenzy that has catapulted it to become the world's most valuable publicly traded company.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

“Volkswagen is simply not a corporation that operates solely according to capitalist rules,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Beginning in the fifties, less discrimination, a truer merit system, and leveler playing fields existed inside the gates of our military posts more than in any Southern city hall or Northern corporation.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

Bilal said faith in politics, government and corporations is not high among his peers, but he’s trying to grow a network of young people to cultivate and support future leaders.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

They are not doing high-profile sabotage of corporations; they are not shooting it out in the coal mines.

From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026

For example, he pointed to widening credit spreads for AI-related company debt amid an “insatiable demand” to borrow money among corporations that “won’t care if rates go up 200 points.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Tremblay said Canada seeking investment from overseas was not new, but that the selling pitch to large corporations had now changed.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

It meant being free from the control of big corporations.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Related Words

• business
• company
• enterprise